PBA 050
5:31:39 PM Canto: Let's see. you went to get the dwarf girl early in the day, got back in the evening, right? And we squished from there. 5:32:47 PM Canto: ((That seems right, right?)) 5:32:59 PM Wynn: ((Yeah, I think so.)) 5:33:41 PM Canto: Okay, so. We'll just say it's the next day. 5:34:05 PM Valerian: ((Yarr.)) 5:34:52 PM Canto: Next morning, Nation's Voice blares through the halls. "There's a gnome woman politely knocking on my outer hull." 5:35:28 PM Canto: Nation's Voice: One of you guys should open it. I'm not your butler. 5:35:38 PM Wynn: I got it, Nation. Thank you. 5:35:48 PM Wynn: Wynn heads out from the training room to the... door. 5:36:08 PM Valerian: Valerian turns up at about the same time she does. 5:38:09 PM Nilani: Nilani peeks around a corner, investigating the minor disturbance. 5:39:36 PM Canto: There is a black haired gnome woman with spectacles, robes, and her tiny arms wrapped around a pack. "Hi! I'm from the College of Whispers. We have a lead on your chitin! i'll explain on the way." She excitedly walks away from Nation, toward the lift that leads back down to the ground floor of the parking structure you're in." 5:39:57 PM Valerian: Great! 5:40:02 PM Wynn: On the.. um, wait? 5:40:27 PM Canto: Gnome: On the chitin piece! The piece! 5:41:13 PM Wynn: No, I got that. I'm just not ready to go chasing you down a street. I have to go get dressed. Give me a minute. 5:41:35 PM Canto: Gnome: Oh. Okay. 5:41:41 PM Canto: She hops from foot to foot, excited. 5:41:42 PM Wynn: ((Because dang it, if y'all aren't gonna let me wear my armor ALL THE TIME, you're gonna have to let me get dressed. :P)) 5:42:07 PM Valerian: Valerian goes with Wynn and helps out if she needs it. 5:42:07 PM Wynn: Wynn gets dressed and returns! 5:42:50 PM Wynn: Ready then? 5:42:51 PM Valerian: Valerian too. 5:42:54 PM Valerian: Valerian nods. 5:43:13 PM Wynn: ((Onwarrrrrrrd!)) 5:43:49 PM Wynn: Wynn follows the gnome! 5:43:52 PM Canto: She's still bouncing when you guys are finally done. 5:45:17 PM Canto: You guys get on the elevator with her? 5:45:38 PM Nilani: Nilani does, at least. 5:45:39 PM Valerian: Valerian does. 5:45:40 PM Wynn: Sure! 5:50:16 PM Canto: Gnome: So my area of expertise is native flora and fauna of the Far Realms--though flora and fauna is not terribly accurate considering everything is SUPER weird out there and is more terminology for our benefit in wrapping our brains around ineffable mysteries-- andthenIransometestsonyourchunkthereand -- 5:50:26 PM Canto: She takes a deep, wheezing breath. 5:51:14 PM Wynn: Wynn glances at the other two. 5:52:17 PM Valerian: ... you should breathe more. 5:52:59 PM Nilani: Nilani looks slightly bewildered at the gnome's rapid speech. 5:53:01 PM Canto: Gnome: --it matches the work of one Professor Ignus of the Church of the Glimmering Trapezoid who is a real superweirdo but really did some broundgreaking -- I mean groundbreaking -- work with cheap but durable materials for construction. 5:53:07 PM Canto: She's bouncing up and down. 5:53:55 PM Canto: Gnome: Ooh, I love this song. 5:54:11 PM Canto: She hums along with the tune that's playing on the lift's music generators. 5:54:14 PM Valerian: ... have you ever had espresso? 5:54:25 PM Canto: Gnome: No? What's that? 5:55:08 PM Valerian: I don't think it would be good. 5:58:49 PM Canto: She pulls out some scrolls from her overstuffed pack. "See? He's done all kinds of designs and stuff. All theoretical." She starts handing out these scrolls and shoving them intot he hands over anyone willing to take them. "He's patented designs for simple stuff like furniture, shelves, fixtures, pipes, and more complicated magical consturcts -- chitin golems, magical armor, stasis pods, chitin construct-steeds of every shape and size!" 5:59:56 PM Valerian: But what is it? 6:01:54 PM Canto: Gnome: It's insectoid in origin, definitely! Or what we would call insectoid. Almost certainly whatever creature it's grown from is cultivated just for this purpose, like cows! 6:02:14 PM Wynn: Bug leather. 6:02:29 PM Canto: Gnome: Or sheep. Sheep is probably a better example. Shearing. Sheepshearing. Sheering. 6:02:49 PM Canto: Roll notice checks! 6:03:14 PM Valerian: ((12.)) 6:03:17 PM Wynn: ((12... and the only one in the room! I can cheat!)) 6:04:51 PM Nilani: (( 16 )) 6:07:50 PM Nilani: Nilani examines one of the scrolls more closely, then hands it to Wynn. 6:08:21 PM Wynn: Wynn takes it. 6:08:42 PM Nilani: ((It's a stasis pod!)) 6:09:01 PM Canto: The scrolls are all the designs that the gnome is talking about -- they look like patent documents. But yes, one of them is the very same Stasis Pods you all woke up in. 6:09:48 PM Wynn: ((Just.... to make sure I'm remembering correctly, we gave them the piece that Andar gave us that wasn't actually from Nation, right? So that's just a design that had been made, and not saying the piece we gave them is from a stasis pod?)) 6:10:24 PM Canto: ((Yep. The piece you got from andar is the same material that the pds, and the the entire pod room is made of.)) 6:11:07 PM Wynn: So who is the guy that designed these? Is he still... alive? Somewhere? 6:11:12 PM Wynn: Wynn hands the scroll to Val. 6:12:30 PM Valerian: Valerian examines it. 6:13:12 PM Wynn: You said they're just theoretical? 6:14:22 PM Canto: The Gnome nods. "Yeah, he's in the Asylum! And no, these work, though I don't know that he's ever cultivated enough chitin to build any of the more the intricate stuff." 6:15:43 PM Wynn: ...Asylum? 6:16:06 PM Valerian: Wait, he's where? 6:20:12 PM Canto: Gnome: The Asylum! It's a district where some of the more chaotic churches and temples are set up. Those that are, you know, super-crazy but whose doctrines do not espouse directly harming others, you know? The Church of the Glimmering Trapezoid worship, um, I dunno. Some god of madness. Or god of alien-ness. Or something. 6:21:10 PM Valerian: Oh. Oh good. 6:22:05 PM Canto: Gnome: They're still super-crazy, though. So there's a whole wall around the district. But my superiors got you set up with a meeting with Professor Ignus. I'm Jule, by the way! 6:23:19 PM Wynn: Wynn has no idea what to say about all this. 6:24:52 PM Canto: She holds out a hand to Wynn. "Hi!" 6:25:25 PM Valerian: A wall? 6:25:30 PM Wynn: Wynn shakes it. "Wynn." 6:26:34 PM Canto: Jule: Right! To keep the more commited worshippers of alien Far Realm gods boxed in! 6:28:07 PM Canto: Jule: I mean, the gods and doctrines don't espouse harming others, but individuals can still be dangerous! 6:28:34 PM Canto: Jule gathers up the scrolls and stuffs them back in her pack as the elevator reaches the ground floor. "I have a coach waiting!" 6:31:10 PM Canto: She leads you to a coach! It's not as nice as the one that you took the banquet. Roll notice! 6:31:11 PM Valerian: Right. Sure. 6:31:25 PM Valerian: ((14.)) 6:31:29 PM Valerian: How do we know they'll let us out afterward. 6:31:31 PM Wynn: ((4.)) 6:32:06 PM Nilani: (( 22 )) 6:33:05 PM Canto: She hands you cards on lanyards. "You'll just be meeting him in the visitor center. You'll be fine, I have to go there all the time for a lot of my research!" 6:33:25 PM Valerian: Ah? 6:35:11 PM Canto: Jule: Flora and fauna of the Far Realms! It's the best place to get information from people who have been there! or at least seen it in a dream or trance or something. 6:36:01 PM Wynn: This plane is getting worse and worse the more we learn about it. 6:36:43 PM Canto: Jule: Why? 6:37:48 PM Wynn: Besides the way people are treated if they aren't religious, apparently if you worship the wrong religion, you get walled in. Or... something. It just doesn't sit well with me. 6:39:25 PM Valerian: Can't really say I like it much myself, but it could be much much worse. 6:41:51 PM Canto: Jule: Would you rather that the people who worship the god of madness wander around with the people who worship the god of cute puppies? 6:42:36 PM Wynn: If they aren't doing anything wrong, yes. 6:42:48 PM Valerian: ... it depends on whether they think they're the king, who likes puppies and is a fairly decent man, or whether they smash puppies, really. 6:43:55 PM Canto: Jule shrugs. 6:44:19 PM Valerian: Some delusions are relatively harmless. 6:45:51 PM Canto: Jule: Anyway, it's not like the tamer people are locked away, it's just where the temples are! 6:46:10 PM Canto: YOu ride in the coach. squeak squeak squeak 6:46:56 PM Valerian: What's that sound, anyway? 6:48:15 PM Canto: Jule: It's an old coach! Just kind of squeaky. 6:48:59 PM Valerian: ... as long as none of the wheels falls off. 6:53:20 PM Canto: You make it to your destination! A part of the city surrounded by the wall. It's pretty big, and seems to encompass several temples. 6:54:29 PM Valerian: I suppose it's too much to hope for that it's nice in there. 6:54:50 PM Wynn: Depends on the definition you use. 6:55:20 PM Canto: It really doesn't look that different than the rest of the city, to be honest. Some buildings are nice, some are mediocre. It's not a slum or anything. 6:57:09 PM Canto: Jule: Your meeting with Professor Ignus is set up in there! 6:57:29 PM Canto: She points to a building that straddles the wall, like a huge gatehouse. 6:57:56 PM Wynn: Are you coming along too? 6:58:25 PM Canto: Jule nods cheerily! 6:59:26 PM Valerian: Good. 6:59:30 PM Valerian: I don't want to get lost in there. 7:00:42 PM Canto: Okay! you guys disembark the coach and Jule takes you to the building! 7:01:59 PM Valerian: Valerian looks around at any people he might see. 7:03:42 PM Canto: Inside the building, you don't see a lot of people. There are a couple of guards at the door, dressed in armor emblazoned with holy symbols. 7:03:59 PM Valerian: Valerian assumes he has no idea what they are. 7:05:15 PM Wynn: ((with a 9 in k: religion, I prob. don't either.)) 7:05:26 PM Canto: Roll knowledge. 7:05:29 PM Canto: Val, I mean. 7:05:58 PM Valerian: ((10!)) 7:06:10 PM Canto: Nope, not off hand. 7:07:51 PM Canto: Inside you see a couple of robed humanoids here and there. It's pretty quiet, really, it feels like a library. This building has a tall vaulted ceiling. Jule walks up to one of the robed guys. "Hi! We're here to see Professor Ignus!" 7:08:41 PM Canto: The guy looks at her with a face that looks like he ate a whole grapefruit int he space of three second. "Oh, it's you. He doesn't want to see you anymore, he says you make his teeth hurt." 7:08:52 PM Canto: Jule sulks. "I'll just wait outside, then. 7:09:14 PM Wynn: Make his teeth hurt? 7:09:44 PM Valerian: How does... 7:11:11 PM Canto: Jule: I made him cupcakes last time I was here! But I lost my measuring cups. 7:11:33 PM Valerian: ... interesting. 7:12:57 PM Canto: Jule: So they might have been too sweet. 7:13:36 PM Valerian: That would make sense. 7:15:33 PM Canto: The robed guy ushers you to a small room. There's a table in the center of teh room, at there's a wizened old human sitting at it. The table is covered with paper and he's writing and drawing furiously, whistling to himself. 7:16:14 PM Valerian: Hello. 7:18:03 PM Valerian: We understand you know a lot about chitin. 7:19:48 PM Canto: Prof. Ignus: I do! I wrote the book on the stuff! 7:20:00 PM Canto: Prof Ignus: 1001 Uses of Chitin. 7:20:36 PM Valerian: Was "build a living ship" one of them? 7:21:26 PM Canto: Prof. Ignus. "Nope! Coral is better for that, but I don't work with coral. Only Chitin." 7:21:40 PM | Edited 7:21:43 PM Wynn: Wynn blinks. 7:22:13 PM Valerian: Valerian hands him the piece of chitin. 7:23:53 PM Canto: Prof. Ignus: Hmmmm. Yes, yes! I'd say this is from a suit of armor! harvested from... oh, I don't know. A mutated horse, probably? 7:24:31 PM Valerian: Valerian blinks. 7:25:20 PM Canto: He licks it. "No! Mutated cow." 7:25:40 PM | Edited 7:25:47 PM Valerian: ((do we have a sample from actual Nation?)) 7:25:55 PM Valerian: Coral's better, is it? What about a mix of coral and chitin? 7:26:34 PM Canto: ((Nope. But remember, the pod room is made of chitin and is of extremely different construction from the rest of nation, who is coral and metallic.)) 7:27:10 PM Wynn: We saw some of your designs for a sort of... pod. Have you ever built those? 7:27:34 PM Valerian: ((Oh, right right.)) 7:27:38 PM Valerian: A stasis pod. 7:28:08 PM Canto: Prof. Ignus eyes narrow. "Who wants to know?" 7:28:53 PM Wynn: We do, obviously. 7:29:59 PM Valerian: Yes. 7:31:38 PM Canto: Prof Ignus crosses his arms. "Haven't you people done enough!!" 7:31:48 PM Valerian: I... don't think we did anything. 7:31:50 PM Wynn: ...who? 7:36:17 PM Canto: Prof Ignus' eyes start to smolder! "Stealing my work! The nerve! I did all the work! 'Oh yes, those stasis pods are all your own idea! The targeting matrix alone was the work of decades!" 7:37:04 PM Canto: When I say smoulder, I don't mean 'Blue Steel' or anything, I mean that fiery energy is starting to spark out of his eyes. 7:37:54 PM Nilani: Nilani shuffles back a bit. 7:37:58 PM Valerian: Sir, that wasn't us. 7:39:05 PM Canto: He takes a deep breath and collects himself. "Hrm. Maybe not." 7:40:06 PM Wynn: Who are you talking about? 7:41:33 PM Canto: Ignus: Two years ago! These people came to me and started asking me all about my work! They never told me what they were working on, but I could guess! 7:41:49 PM Canto: He sorts through his pile of papers furiously. 7:42:31 PM Valerian: What did you guess? 7:43:30 PM Canto: Ignus: They were using my pod design! 7:44:47 PM Canto: He puts out a charcoal sketch. It looks like.... concept art of Nation's Pod Room. "From the questions they asked, and the number of pods they wanted to use, they wanted something like this. Like.... hundreds of pod, in one giant pod! 7:45:14 PM Wynn: Two years ago? 7:45:52 PM Canto: Ignus: Two years ago! or months. Or centuries? Time is weird extraplanar. 7:46:09 PM Canto: Ignus: and they were definitely extraplanar. Yugoloths! 7:46:11 PM Wynn: Who were they? 7:47:01 PM Canto: Ignus: Yugoloths! The one in charge was named Kizzek. 7:47:47 PM Wynn: Were they part of a larger group? 7:47:52 PM Valerian: Yugoloths. Yugoloths? 7:48:00 PM Canto: Roll K: Planes. 7:48:19 PM Valerian: ((20.)) 7:49:32 PM Valerian: The happy mediums between demons and devils, those yugoloths? 7:54:13 PM Canto: Ignus nods. "Yeah. He was almost certainly working with someone else, though. Or for someone else. Yugoloths very often hire themselves out. They tend to play both sides of the Blood War. 7:55:11 PM Canto: Ignus: But he wanted my stasis pods. He wanted them to pick up certain people from certain times and places, scoop them up from across the multiverse. I told him that would need an extraordinary power source. That didn't seem to be an issue. 7:55:54 PM Canto: Ignus: He disappears, and I hear through my own sources that this same Kizzek made a huge order for chitin. Enough for a construction like this. 7:56:01 PM Canto: He indicates the picture of the pod room. 7:56:25 PM Valerian: I'm sure power wasn't a problem. 7:56:44 PM Wynn: Did he say why? Why those people, or which people? 7:58:40 PM Canto: Ignus: He just asked questions about the targeting matrix. They way I saw it, it was for emergencies or something. You have a void ship, or a sailing ship. And there's an emergency. You can then activate the system, and all the crew are teleported to their pods. He wanted something that could scoop up specific people across dimensions. I don't know why, or what people. But it would require certain markers. 7:58:51 PM Canto: Ignus: It couldn't be random. 7:59:17 PM Wynn: What markers? 8:01:56 PM Canto: Ignus: You could set the system to target, say, exclusively humans. Or exclusively people who can channel divine or arcane energy. 8:01:59 PM Valerian: More powerful people, maybe? 8:02:44 PM Canto: Ignus: Could be. There would have to be something that ties the targets together. Some common factor for the system to latch on to. 8:03:31 PM Wynn: Ok, so say they made this thing. Do you know how to... unmake it? 8:05:39 PM Canto: Ignus: The chitin-enchantment process that I patented is extremly durable. You'd need some kind of solvent to get through it. There would be a mechanism or apparatus. If we're talking about this construction, it would be under the floor, or in the walls, or something. 8:05:43 PM Canto: He taps the pod room sketch. 8:06:05 PM Canto: Ignus: then you could get into the guts of the mechanism. And it might be actual guts. 8:06:14 PM Wynn: ...actual guts? 8:06:19 PM Valerian: If we don't know where it is, how do we find the mechanism? 8:07:28 PM Canto: He sits back. "Well then. If I could see the construction, I could figure it out. Very easily. If such a thing were to actual exist. 8:08:01 PM Canto: He looks at Val pointedly. "But that would be crazy talk, wouldn't it?" 8:08:32 PM Valerian: Would it? 8:09:27 PM Canto: Ignus: If you had this thing. And I could get a look at it, I could definitely help youf igure out how to start pulling it apart. 8:09:37 PM Canto: Ignus: But to what end? 8:10:15 PM Valerian: To stop it from kidnapping other people. 8:12:48 PM Canto: Ignus: Other people? So you got ensnared by one of these things. 8:12:53 PM Canto: Ignus: Interesting. 8:13:20 PM Valerian: Correct. 8:13:31 PM Canto: Ignus: What would be in it for me? 8:13:46 PM Wynn: What would you want? 8:15:08 PM Canto: Ignus: For my highly sought after consultation? Hmmm. 8:15:12 PM Canto: He looks you guys up and down. 8:15:24 PM Canto: Ignus: Mherit has a price on my head. 8:15:43 PM Canto: Ignus: You get me Utlan-Tari protection, and you have a deal. 8:16:07 PM Valerian: That might prove difficult. 8:16:17 PM Valerian: We're not... that kind of powerful. 8:16:44 PM Valerian: Are there any alternatives? 8:18:25 PM Canto: Ignus: Join my church. That would make the Church of the Gllimmering Trapezoid large enough to warrant a small temple. 8:18:34 PM Wynn: No. 8:18:52 PM Valerian: What does the Glimmering Trapezoid stand for? 8:20:05 PM Canto: Ignus: Trapezoids! We worship an emanation of pure, idealized, angular perfection! 8:21:12 PM Valerian: Those are our options, then. All right, thank you. 8:23:29 PM Wynn: One more question. Did they ever mention what they wanted to do with these people? 8:24:56 PM Canto: Ignus: One of Kizzek's minions did mention something about 'soul collection' in a language she didn't think I understood. 8:25:40 PM Valerian: ... wonderful. 8:25:51 PM Valerian: Soul collection for either demons or devils. 8:26:59 PM Valerian: That explains all the ghosts. 8:28:16 PM Canto: Ignus: I imagine so! 8:29:26 PM Valerian: ... right, let's go.